Applicant is aware of British Patent No. 311,017 which issued May 9, 1929 to Eggleston for a device entitled "Improvements in and relating to Game Apparatus". Eggleston teaches a putting device including an inclined putting surface supported by legs and a gravity assisted ball return tube from an aperture in the upper end of the inclined putting surface. The inclined putting surface is a board or sheet having at its' lower end a bevelled under-surface for flush resting engagement with the floor surface. Raised walls are provided around the upper end of the inclined putting surface to prevent a golf ball running off the surface when in play. The legs may be adjusted in their angle relative to the inclined putting surface so as to adjust the inclination of the inclined putting surface.
It has been found that a true putt simulation is not achieved when using the Eggleston device to simulate long putts. Long putts are simulated by increasing the inclination of the inclined putting surface. In particular, the force with which a golf ball must be hit combined with the abrupt inclination of the inclined putting surface as the golf ball enters onto the inclined surface causes the golf ball to jump, often throwing it off the line of the putt.
It has also been found that if the inclined putting surface of the Eggleston device is too low, such as when simulating a short putt, that the golf ball has insufficient energy either when returning along the inclined putting surface or through the ball return tube to send the golf ball back to the golfer.
Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to minimize interference with the path of the golf ball as the golf ball enters onto the inclined surface of the putting device and to incline the putting surface at an angle from which the golf ball will consistently be returned to the golfer.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a golf ball return system using a golf ball return chute and deflecting surface which returns the golf ball to approximately the center of the putting green at the position of the golfer.